Friday, November 30, 2012

Five Characters I Want to See in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed

If you have visited SuperPhillip Central in the past, then you know my admiration for Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing. I gave it the edge over Mario Kart Wii as best kart racer of the seventh generation of home consoles. Now that the game's sequel, Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, is out on Wii U, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and eventually PC, Nintendo 3DS, and PlayStation Vita, there have been some exclusions from the roster.

Recently someone on the inside on Sega's official forums posed a challenge to the community. He requested that the community vote for three characters that would be good additions to the current roster. I have done two better and have five characters I'd like to see step into a vehicle, rev their engines, and storm onto the racetrack.

Ristar

Even though Ristar has only appeared in two games, both of which released in the same year, the starman character left a lasting impression on many gamers, myself included. Currently, Ristar is actually in Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but is relegated to waving the starting flag. That's unfortunate. Sure, we can't have Ristar as a playable character, but thank God we
have Danica Patrick-- a member of the roster everyone wanted and clamored for-- in the
game as a racer instead. Speaking of which, the team had a hard time
coming up with a victory pose for Ms. Patrick in the game-- y'know, because she
never wins in real life. Hi-oh!

Vectorman

Like a robot but is an orbot (a robot consisting of solely orbs), Vectorman was originally Sega's solution to Donkey Kong Country. Both games used graphical techniques to create a more rendered look. And like Ristar, Vectorman only appeared in two games, though said games would show up in several collections. The orbot is able to transform into various shapes throughout both Sega Genesis games, so it only makes sense for him to make an appearance in a game with Transformed in the title! Sega really needs to give this character another chance. The-announced-then-quickly-cancelled 2003 Vectorman reboot almost brought the orbot back, but Sonic & All-Star Racing Transformed is the perfect opportunity for this orb-being to come out of hiatus.

Billy Hatcher

I absolutely abhor it when a character from a previous installment is
taken out of the sequel. It even hurts more so when said character has a
track based on his franchise in the game. Do I need to remind people of
Waluigi and Mario Kart 7? Well, Billy Hatcher was the latest victim of
this behavior. Mr. Hatcher only had one game, but it was a doozy. Not only was it charming and colorful, but it had one of the most infectious themes I've ever heard. Billy was one of my favorite characters in Sumo Digital's first effort, so his removal absolutely astonished me-- and not in a positive way. Perhaps if Alex Kidd can come as a character later on, so can Billy Hatcher. At least that is what I keep telling myself in a futile attempt to no longer have a tear-stained pillow at night.

Ryo Hazuki

Another victim of the Waluigi effect, Mr. Ryo "Do you know any sailors"
Hazuki was a much heralded addition to the Sonic & SEGA
All-Stars Racing lineup. Players could either choose to have the Shenmue
series's hero ride on a wild hog of a motorcycle or speed around in a
forklift. I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to do the
latter in real life. I can't drive 55 in a forklift. I need to go at
least 70. Regardless, you can imagine my disappointment when yet another
original Sonic & SEGA racing character was omitted from the roster
of Sumo Digital's sophomore cartoon racer.

ToeJam & Earl

Time
for these two characters to get the funk into Sonic & All-Stars
Racing Transformed as the last time we've seen these two in a new game
was back in 2002 with ToeJam & Earl III: Mission to Earth on the
original Xbox. We've seen two characters team up in one vehicle before
(e.g. Zobio and Zobiko of House of the Dead EX fame), so having ToeJam
and Earl driving around should be no problem. How about having the pair
drive around in a modded Funkatron that transforms from car to boat to
plane? Sounds like a novel (and awesome) idea to me!

===

I have selected my five inclusions to the already populated Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed roster. What about you? Personally, I'd love to see Bayonetta somehow become a Nintendo platform exclusive for the sole reason of seeing system warriors make even bigger bastards of themselves.

Nonetheless, which five Sega all-stars that are not yet part of the roster would you love to see added? Let everybody know in the comments section.